New York City Loan and Grant Programs Available to Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus Pandemic

March 24, 2020

New York City is providing eligible business owners who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic sources of capital and employee retention grants. While additional aid programs are expected to be announced from state and local authorities, below is a summary of the New York City Small Business Continuity Fund and the New York City Employee Grant Program.

New York City Small Business Continuity Fund

Small businesses located in New York City that have been financially impacted by the pandemic are eligible to access the New York City Small Business Continuity Fund as a source of capital. Interest-free loans of up to $75,000 from the Fund are available for businesses that meet the following requirements:

located within one of the five boroughs of New York City

experienced at least a 25% decrease in revenues

employ less than 99 employees, and

do not have any outstanding tax liens or legal judgments.

Eligible small businesses interested in applying for a Fund loan should be prepared to provide substantiation of the business’s drop in revenue from point of sale reports, bank statements, quarterly sales tax filings or CPA certified profit and loss statements, the business’s most recent tax returns (tax year 2019 if available) and demonstration that the business will be able to repay the loan.

Business owners may apply online (Pre-Application for the NYC Small Business Continuity Loan Fund). Additional questions should be emailed to Covid19biz@sbs.nyc.gov.

New York City Employee Retention Grant Program

New York City also initiated the Employee Retention Grant Program to help small businesses with fewer than five employees retain such employees by providing a grant of up to 40% of such business’s payroll cost for up to two months. The Grant Program provides a maximum of $27,000 to businesses that have been financially impacted as a result of the pandemic and meet the following requirements:

located within one of the five New York City boroughs

experienced at least a 25% decrease in revenues

employ 1-4 employees

have been in business for at least six months, and

have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgments.

The 25% decrease in revenue is calculated by comparing the average revenue for two months in 2020 after the business was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to (1) the average revenue during the same two months in 2019 and (2) the average monthly revenue based on the business’s total 2019 revenue.

Eligible small businesses interested in applying should be prepared to provide point of sales reports, bank statements, quarterly sales tax filings, 2019 tax returns or latest tax return if not available, CPA certified profit and loss statements and an executed participant affidavit. Business owners may apply online (NYC Employee Grant Program Application).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your Marks Paneth advisor. You may also visit our Pandemic Resource Center for additional updates and guidance on the coronavirus (COVID-19).